Regarding your fire article (HCN,
5/26/03: A losing battle): To ask taxpayers to compensate
homeowners for losses incurred from living in fire-prone areas is
irresponsible, and to ask firefighters to put their lives on the
line to defend these homes is just plain wrong. I live in Seattle,
an earthquake-prone area. To protect ourselves from
earthquake-related losses, we take steps to earthquake-proof our
homes (such as bolting our home onto its foundation), and we
purchase earthquake insurance. In other words, we take
responsibility for preventing losses from potential disasters. It
is inconceivable to me that homeowners who choose to live in
fire-prone forests do not take responsibility for protecting
themselves from fire.
Christine Avery
Seattle,
Washington
This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the headline Defending your own home.
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